


Do you want fries with that?

by MechaShizuko



Category: DCU (Comics)
Genre: Halbarry Fanfiction Challenge, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-09
Updated: 2015-06-09
Packaged: 2018-04-03 16:42:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,497
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4107829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MechaShizuko/pseuds/MechaShizuko
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hal and Barry have a late night dinner date. Shenanigans ensue.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Do you want fries with that?

**Author's Note:**

> This fic has been beta'd by both dickgrayzon and demonwayne from tumblr. A million thanks for their incredible patience.

 "Why is it that you never make this thing any bigger?"

 Hal looked to his right, where Barry was crouching inside the tiny sidecar construct. They both knew he could make literally anything for transport. Heck, that one time with the speeding couch had been pretty memorable, but just because he theoretically didn't have to act like a brat to his partner didn’t mean he wouldn't.

 "I need to conserve energy." - He shrugged -"The ring is running out of juice after such a hardworking weekend so, the smaller the construct, the better."

 "All you did was marathon horror movies while I speed-scanned the Watchtower's monitors." – He could tell Barry was trying to move his arms in exasperation, even though he didn’t have the room for it.

 "Well, I didn't see you complaining when I got us those surround sound speakers." - Hal leaned to the side and smirked in his boyfriend's face. - "Nor when I made those cuffs constructs for-"

 "Fine! Fine." - Barry crossed his arms over his bent knees - "You could at least go faster."

 Openly laughing now, Hal drove the green scooter and its tiny sidecar through space. He scanned the Earth's silhouette and found Central City's coordinates with the ring's help.

 "Okay, I think we can get to your place around 11 pm or so. Do you have work tomorrow?"

 The speedster was resting his chin over his arms, seeming resigned to his confinement. - "No, I have this whole week off."

 "Nice. Let's grab some late dinner then."

 Speeding to their destination, they watched how the sunlight outlined Earth. It wasn't a good idea to land on the dark side of the planet, not when you had so many satellites to dodge. But Hal wasn't going to miss the opportunity to share that view with Barry. Speaking of satellites...

 "Don't."

 Hal jumped in his seat. "What are you talking about? I'm not doing anything!"

 Barry frowned back. "Yet. I see you eyeing that Wayne Enterprises Satellite. So don't."

 "Aw come on Bar, just a little nudge and-"

 "Hal, seriously."

 "But Clark once-"

 "No!"

 "You're no fun, did you know that?"

 

 The Flash just gave him a smug smile. Crossing his arms and mumbling about goodie two shoes boyfriends, the pilot drove them through the atmosphere with relative ease. At least nothing caught fire this time.

* * *

 They landed in a small alley, changing out of their costumes. It was later than Hal’s predicted time, going past midnight. Even though a place like Central City was always in constant movement, most stores and restaurants were already closed.

 “So much for that late dinner then.” – Barry wasn’t that miffed about it. They could easily just microwave something at home. However, before he could make the suggestion, Hal was already walking away from the alley.

 “What are you talking about? There’s a place right there.”

 “The Big Belly Burger? You just spent an entire weekend cooped up in the Watchtower eating junk food.” – argued Barry.

 “Exactly! And no place has better greasy burgers than the Big Belly Burger.” – Hal turned back, grinning from ear to ear. – “So let’s end this weekend on a high note.”

 “By making me buy you dinner? Again?”

 The pilot rolled his eyes – “Don’t worry about it smart ass, I got this.”

 Shaking his head and smiling, Barry followed the other into the restaurant. As expected at that time of the night, it was almost empty. Aside from a few kids, an old lady and the staff, they had the whole place for themselves.

 “Wait here.” – Whispered Hal.

 Barry raised an eyebrow, but did has he said, staying behind while the other approached the counter. He saw as Hal called over a young waitress and started talking to her low enough that he couldn’t hear them from where he was standing. Deciding to leave him to charm his way into a free dinner, Barry searched for a good spot to sit down. A small table by the window seemed like a good place as any.

 He sat down and gazed outside, remembering to later thank Jay for looking out over Central City while he was out. The last thing he needed after a weekend on League watch duty was to return to a city taken over by the Rogues.

 “Why, hello there handsome. Mind if I take this seat?”

 Barry turned his head to find Hal with the goofiest grin while holding their dinner. – “Only if that Double Tummy XXL is for me.”

 Hal laughed as he sat down – “Their food may be great, but they’ve got to work on better names.”

 Before his tray was even set in front of him, the speedster was already grabbing his burger and devouring it. “I fwought dat yo hof oll people ould appeciate dem.”

 “Oh my god Barry, were you never taught as a child to not talk with your mouth full?”

 Shrugging in the face of Hal’s mock indignation, he kept speed-eating his burger. (“You’re inhaling it, you monster!”) Extra cheese, extra bacon and no pickles. As always, Hal had gotten his meal just as he liked it. He should've been used to this sort of familiarity by now and yet, it still made the blond feel impossibly fond of him.

 “What are you smiling at?” – The pilot was pouring ketchup over his french fries and squinting suspiciously at his boyfriend's face.

 Thank goodness for super speed, he did not need to end up blushing over such a silly thing. Instead, Barry coughed to reign in his expression and gestured over his own face. “You’ve got something on your...”

 “What are you talking abou-” He was interrupted mid-sentence when the blond quickly dipped his finger into ketchup and smeared it over the other’s nose.

 “Hey!”

 Snickering at that flabbergasted face, Barry tried to do it again. Of course, Hal was prepared this time, and flicked a small french fry at his face. What he hadn’t expected was Barry catching it in mid air with his mouth. He felt laughter bubble up inside him.

 “You’re so ridiculous.”

 Hal’s shit eating grin appeared to soften a bit. “You love it.”

 “Of course. If you weren’t there hanging out with me and making a fool of yourself all the time, I wouldn’t appear as mature and responsible.”

 “You villain!” – Multiple fries were being thrown at the speedster now. – “How dare you use me like this?”

 “Hum… excuse me?” – Came a hesitant voice, interrupting them both. Next to their table was standing the young waitress that had answered to Hal’s order at the counter. She looked nervous and kept flicking her gaze between Barry’s now empty tray, the french fries all over the table, and Hal’s ketchup smeared nose. They looked like two kids caught with their hands in the cookie jar. - “Do you wish for a second helping? It’s also on the house.”

 What? On the house? What in the world had Hal done to get this amount of free food?

 Also noticing Barry’s finished meal, Hal recomposed himself, cleaned his face, and smiled charmingly at the waitress. – “Oh yes please. Just for my partner here though, I’m good. Another Double Tummy XXL? Barry?”

 Both were gazing expectantly at him. “Hum… no, that’s ok. Something smaller will be fine.” – He answered, still confused.

 Hal’s smile returned has he looked back at the young woman. – “Then a regular Belly Buster, please.”

 “Right away, sir.”

 Barry waited for her to leave before resting his elbows on the table and glaring accusingly. – “What did you do?”

 “Nothing!” – Hal had both his hand raised in defense. – “Guess they’re just really nice to their late night costumers.” – At Barry’s incredulous stare, he deflated a bit. – “Aw come on, just trust me, ok?”

 Barry harrumphed and, as revenge, stole another ketchup smeared french fry for himself. Ignoring Hal’s protests, he munched pensively.

 “Sooo… someone here owes you money.”

 “Wha-? No!”

 He rested his chin on his hand and kept looking straight at those brown eyes. – “You somehow promised them an autograph from Superman.”

 No response aside from a slight frown. Choosing to ignore the questioning, Hal took a bite from his burger instead.

 “Batman’s?”

 “Why would anyone want an autograph from him?” - He muttered.

 Barry chuckled. – “Then… you revealed your identity and promised to have the League sponsor the restaurant.”

 “Even _I_ am not that irresponsible.”

 Grinning back at the glare he was receiving, Barry leaned back in his seat to let the approaching waitress set the new tray in front of him. He thanked her and went back to eating with gusto.

 They continued their late diner date in peace. Occasionally, the speedster would notice some of the staff looking their way. It made him feel a bit self conscious, but considering that Hal was trying to make him choke on his burger by doing an eerily accurate imitation of Ollie’s beard with his remaining fries, he guessed it was to be expected. They did attract a lot of attention, especially with the place as empty as it was.

 By the time they ordered their desserts, Hal’s shenanigans increasingly seemed more and more forced, though. Coupled with the stares they kept receiving, Barry was starting to seriously suspect something was wrong. A few of the kids had left the restaurant in the meantime, but two of them remained, and so did the old lady, who was side-eyeing them accusingly. Maybe the french fries war had been a bit too much.

 “Hal, really, what did you do for this?” – He gestured to his half eaten ice cream.

 The Green Lantern fidgeted in his seat, something that very rarely happened. Barry’s nerves were suddenly on edge. After a few moments (an eternity for the Flash) Hal seemed to have found his resolve and stared him in the eyes.

 “Barry. I…” – At the serious tone, the speedster sat straight in his seat. Taking advantage of catching the other off guard, Hal grabbed one of Barry’s hands. Unfortunately for both, it was the one holding a spoonful of ice cream.

 Cursing under his breath, the pilot tried to clean his left sleeve and the table with the thin napkins. Normally, Barry would have helped him, but was once again surprised when the young waitress was back. It was almost as if she had materialized next to Hal to help him exactly when he needed it. To the Flash, all this felt like it was happening in slow motion, he could have easily prevented it, but Hal’s serious face had made his heart constrict in his chest. What was going on?

 After cleaning as much as she could, the waitress nodded at them both and left in a hurry, stumbling until she went behind the counter, where her co-workers were all not-so-subtly staring at them.

 “Barry?” – Hal tried again, pulling the other’s attention back to him. – “Look I… I’ve been trying to come up with a good opportunity to bring this up, but it never seemed like it was the right time. And I wasn’t sure myself if I wanted this. If _you_ wanted this.” – He ran his fingers through his hair. – “To be honest, when I started thinking about this, it was only for you, it was never really my kind of thing, you know? But I…”

 “Hal.” – Barry reached with his hand across the table, gently holding out his hand. – “You’re babbling.” – He tried to smile, to reassure his boyfriend and felt his face heating up when he remembered all the attention they had on them right now.

 The brunet took the offered hand and squeezed it. – “What I’m trying to say is that I love you and I know that you love me, that you’ve got my back as much as I got yours, and I always thought that would be enough. We’ve been together for so long, as friends and more, that all seemed okay. As long as you were my best friend and partner, everything was fine. No worries.” – Hal looked at their intertwined hands. – “But not anymore.”

 He watched as the pilot stood up oh so slowly, never letting go of his hand. Barry’s heart was going too fast for his body being so still. He was sure everyone at the restaurant could hear it hammering against his ribcage. In what felt like years later, Hal was kneeling down in front of him.

  “Barry Allen… will you marry me?”

 Oh.

 He suddenly felt a complete detachment from the world around him, everything too slow to even move.

 Hal’s mouth was still shaped around the last word of his sentence, his face still holding all those emotions Barry couldn’t categorize yet. Like this, he had all the time in the world to decipher every single one of them, he just needed to stay in this moment, to hold it for an eternity.

 However, the only ‘time’ he wanted to live in was the one _with_ the people he loved.

 Not even sparing a glance at anyone else but Hal, Barry felt his smile spread as wide as possible. He was probably as red as his own costume by now, and felt breathless, like he’d just done eighty journeys across the world in one day.

 “OffcourseIdoyouidiotIcan’tbelieveyou’reaskingmeI’m-”

 The hand gripping his own tightened its hold, lifting him from his seat. – “Whoa, whoa! Not so fast buddy.” – Hal’s returning smile appeared to grow impossibly bigger as his face came near the blond’s. Before he knew it, their mouths were a breath away.  – “Say it again, in a speed my ears can catch.”

 “Y.e.s.”

 Hal cupped his face and whispered to his lips. – “Smartass.”

 When their lips met Barry could swear the world around them burst into motion. Or maybe it was the five or six people left in the restaurant applauding. And was that old lady whistling at them? Before he could further contemplate on their audience, Hal deepened the kiss, making Barry grip the pilot’s hips. Got it. Celebratory kiss now, wondering about late night fast food staff and costumers’ reactions to their engagement later.

 Barry pulled apart first - “Ending the weekend on a high note indeed.”

 Hal kissed his left cheek and kept his lips there, humming in agreement. He had his arms around the blond’s neck, and it felt so warm and wonderful to be this physically close that Barry let himself stay like this for-

 “Ah, to be young and in love.”

 “Dammit, the wifi here sucks, I can’t upload these pics.”

 “Look at him, he’s blushing so much, how adorable.”

 Barry froze in place. He peeked from over Hal’s shoulder, finding the small group of people all looking at them, some still with their arms positioned in clapping gestures. The young waitress that had served their dinner was giving him the thumbs up and the old lady was now winking at him.

 “Awww you guys, thank you.” – Hal turned to their audience, keeping one arm over the blond’s shoulders and placing the other hand over his chest. “Your support means the world to us, doesn’t it Bar?”

 

 That Green Lantern trademark grin was back and its full force directed at Barry. He was one hundred percent sure his face was still violently red, but that didn’t stop him from glaring daggers at his boyfriend (fiancée!). Pinching Hal’s ass, he looked at everyone else with the most polite smile he could manage, reveling on the loud yelp coming from right next to him. 

* * *

 

 “Well, that wasn’t so bad.”

 Barry, who had already managed to control his breathing, dammit super speed, looked incredulously at him. – “Are you seriously starting this post-coitus pillow talk with _that_.”

 “And are you seriously using the word ‘coitus’ in bed? Besides, I didn’t mean the sex, stupid. I meant the whole…” – He waved his arm around at the ceiling, mentally yelling at Barry to not make him say it out loud. Again. – “Uhh, you know. The whole night. It was nice.”

 He heard Barry shift around and turned his head to see the other prop himself on his right elbow. Some of the hickeys were still visible. Good. They wouldn’t last much longer, but it was always nice to see his hard work pay off a bit. Dating a speedster was a lot more demanding than he'd originally thought. Not that he minded the challenge.

 “You mean, the whole ‘asking my hand in marriage’ thing.” – Damn, that cheeky smile was back.

 “Yeah, that.”

 He heard Barry laugh, a lighthearted sound that made him smile back. Oh he was so screwed. “This doesn’t have to change anything. I mean… It can be just a formality? We don’t need a big wedding or a huge party and call too much attention to it.”

 Barry’s hand was tracing random patterns over his chest. – “What, are you getting scared now? I though my big bad lantern boyfriend was fearless.”

 “I am! And if I have to be scared of anything in this relationship, it would losing you, not committing myself to you.”

 The hand over his chest stopped, and Barry stared at him with his mouth slightly open.

 “That was.”

 “Whoa.”

 “Harold Jordan, what did just come over you?”

 “Shut up, _Bartholomew_.”

 “I really appreciate the romancing but you’re kind of 5 years late now. According to what I've heard, we’re already engaged.”

 “What do you mean 5 years late? It’s never too late for romance!”

 Barry’s hand rested over where his heart was. - “You asked me to marry you in a fast food restaurant.”

 “That was incredibly thoughtful of me! You’re always eating junk food because it’s cheaper and faster and gives you the energy to run around. I was only joining the useful with the pleasurable.”

 “Sure you were, officer.” – The blond lay down again, resting next to Hal and occasionally poking his ribcage where he was ticklish. – “It was all very romantic, down to Mrs. Wellington buying everyone beer and trying to convince the poor staff to keep the place open all night long as celebration.”

 “Precisely! Not only did I get us free food, we also got free booze. I assure you that if you ask anyone, they will be impressed by these sick romancing skills.” – Really. He was the best. Everything that could go right had gone right, and now, he had the whole week to spend with Barry. Well, not the whole week, the blond might have had the week off, but he didn’t. Still, plenty of free time ahead for- His train of thoughts stopped abruptly at Barry’s face.

 “Bar? What’s wrong?”

 The hand over his chest clutched into a fist. “I can’t believe you.”

 “Barry?”

 “You asked me to marry you so that we could get free food, didn’t you?”

 Shit.

 “…In my defense-“

 “Oh my god!” - The speedster sat up in a blink of an eye. - “You actually DID!”

 “Well…”

 Barry was looking at the ceiling in exasperation. “That’s why the waitress kept showing up whenever we needed stuff, she was trying to help you! And everyone staring! They all knew!” - He covered his face with his hands in mortification.

 Hal sat up next to him. “They were all so nice about it too. So supportive.” – At Barry’s lightning fast turn of his head, he promptly shut up.

 “Give me one reason to not kick you out of this bed right now.”

 “The fact that it wasn’t a joke.” – Hal shrugged. – “I’ve been meaning to ask you this for maybe a month or so now, I just never thought it was… you know, the right time? This is completely out of my field, man. I was half expecting _you_ to make the first move. So when we arrived to Central City and saw the place open, I was like ‘Cool’.”

 Barry snorted. - “Cool? Eloquent much?”

 “I just had two rounds of sex after a long weekend and a very emotional dinner date, gimme a break.”

 The speedster was outright snickering against his left shoulder now. – “You. Are so ridiculous. I can’t believe I said yes.”

 “Aw come on. Two birds with one stone.”

 “Actually it was three birds. We also got the booze, remember?” 

 Hal lay back down with his arms behind his head. “Exactly! Romance isn’t dead yet. We just opened a door of opportunity. So much potential ahead of us.”

 Barry lay down as well, resting his hands on his own stomach. – “You’re not talking about our relationship anymore, are you?”

 “Nope. Well, in a way, yes. Just, imagine all the free meals we could get out of this. Not just junk food, we could go to nicer restaurants, like Coastal Flats, or Jackson’s! Next time I’ll actually have the engagement rings with me, it will be great! Or we could use our rings? We just gotta be careful, it would be anticlimatic getting a faceful of red spandex after an heartfelt speech-.”

 Too fast to catch, the pillow collided with his face, effectively shutting him up. But try as he might, Barry’s smothering attempts could not silence Hal’s laughter.


End file.
